The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to an information handling system that forwards Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) frames using layer 3 (L3) forwarding tables.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Some IHSs including, for example, switches, routers, and/or other network IHSs, utilize FCoE technology that involves the encapsulation of Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks as described in International Committee for Information Technology Standards T11 FC-BB-5 standard published in 2009, which allows the use of Fibre Channel in networks such as, for example, 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks, while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol. However, conventional FCoE switching systems include FCoE-enabled switch chips which are relatively expensive, resulting in a relatively high cost associated with transmitting FCoE communications. Non-FCoE-enabled switching systems include non-FCoE-enabled switch chips that are relatively lower cost compared to the FCoE enabled switch chips, but face a number of issues with regard to their use in transmitting FCoE communications. For example, number of user-defined forwarding or routing table entries available for use by non-FCoE-enabled switch chips in non-FCoE-enabled switching systems is limited, which limits the number of forwarding entries available for transmitting FCoE communications. As such, the size of the FCoE network fabric is limited when using non-FCoE-enabled switching systems to the point where non-FCoE-enabled switching systems are not practical for use in transmitting FCoE communications.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a non-FCoE-enabled switching system for use in transmitting FCoE communications.